The Arkansas Razorbacks wrapped up a special regular season on Saturday evening by defeating Missouri, 4-0 in the SEC Softball Tournament Championship Game at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.
Arkansas had played well in all areas leading up to the championship game, only allowing one run in two previous games, which included the host Florida Gators. Missouri had played well defensively as well, not allowing a run in wins over two top-seeded teams in Alabama and Tennessee, as well as Auburn.
But one of the nation’s top offenses prevailed again, leading Arkansas to their first-ever SEC Tournament Championship.
Three of Arkansas’ four runs came on RBI singles. After Arkansas led off the inning with two singles, [autotag]Danielle Gibson[/autotag] put the Razorbacks on the board with a single to score [autotag]KB Sides[/autotag] to give Arkansas the 1-0 lead.
[autotag]Marlene Friedman[/autotag] followed suit in the 2nd inning by driving home [autotag]Kacie Hoffman[/autotag], who led off the inning with a triple. The final RBI single of the game came in the 5th inning by [autotag]Hannah McEwen[/autotag] to give Arkansas the 3-0 lead. Arkansas’ final run was scored on a wild pitch later in the 5th to solidify the win.
In all, Arkansas outhit Missouri, 11-2. In the circle, [autotag]Chenise Delce[/autotag] struck out five batters and issued zero walks in the complete game effort.
Once the dust settled, Arkansas’ postseason fate was learned. The Razorbacks will host the Fayetteville Regional as the national No. 4 seed, which means that if the Razorbacks come out victorious in this regional, they will host the Super Regionals next weekend. Arkansas welcomes Oregon, Wichita State, and Princeton to Bogle Park for the 2022 regional.
Arkansas is paired with the Seattle Regional, hosted by no. 13 seed Washington. Teams included in the regional are Washington, Texas, Weber State, and Lehigh.